Liz Craig

Last updated

Philip Melgren
​
(m. 2020)​
Liz Craig
Profile--lizcraig-390x2-UNC.jpg
Craig in 2023
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Health
In office
3 May 2022 –27 November 2023
Children2

Elizabeth Dorothy Craig (born 1967) is a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She served as a Member of Parliament from 2017 to 2023. As a public health physician before entering Parliament, she is known for her research work on child poverty.

Contents

Early life and family

Craig was born in 1967 [1] and received her secondary education at Spotswood College in New Plymouth. She left New Plymouth at the age of 18 to attend medical school in Auckland. [2] She was married to David Craig for 27 years, with whom she has two children. [3] [4] In January 2020 she married Philip Melgren. [5]

Prior to the 2014 election, she lived in Dunedin. For the 2014 election, the family split its time between Dunedin and Romahapa in The Catlins. [3] In 2016, when her selection for the Invercargill electorate was confirmed, she started looking for a house in Invercargill and has lived there since. [6] [7]

Public health career

Craig is a public health doctor and child poverty advocate. [8] In 2009, she won a $50,000 Dunedin School of Medicine's research development investment award, and she established a child and youth health policy research unit with that funding. [9] She was the director of the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service of the University of Otago. [10] In 2012, she warned that New Zealanders had to get used to poor children suffering from Third World diseases. [11] She was part of a group that compiled an annual child poverty monitor, and the group has been credited with making the issue one of the core topics of the 2017 election. [12] Craig resigned as director from the research group, and as editor of the child poverty monitor, prior to the 2014 election. [3]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
YearsTermElectorateListParty
2017 –2020 52nd List 31 Labour
2020 –2023 53rd List 41 Labour

Craig stressed that her political views were formed through her work on child poverty, and "not the other way around". [3] She joined the Labour Party in 2010 and was a contributing author of Labour's children's policies for the 2011 and 2014 elections. [13] She stood for Labour in the Clutha-Southland electorate in the 2014 election, placing second. Ranked 32 on the Labour list, she was not returned on the list either. [14]

In May 2016, she was selected unopposed to contest the Invercargill electorate at the 2017 election. [12] Craig was placed 31 on Labour's party list. [15] Craig lost the electorate to incumbent Sarah Dowie, but entered parliament via the Party list. [16] In her first term, she was a member of the health, environment and regulations review committees. [17]

During the 2020 election, Craig contested the Invercargill electorate but lost to National candidate Penny Simmonds by 224 votes. [18] Craig had trailed by 685 votes in the preliminary results, causing speculation that she could win the seat when the special votes were counted. [19] [20] Despite this defeat, Craig was able to remain in Parliament via the Labour Party list. [21]

Craig was chair of the health select committee from 2020 to 2022 when she was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary for Health. [22]

During the 2023 New Zealand general election, she contested Invercargill for a third time. [23] [24] She came second place to National candidate Penny Simmonds, who won by a margin of 10,945 votes. [25] Due to her low ranking on the Labour Party list, she was not re-elected to Parliament. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party</span> New Zealand political party

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), also known as the Cannabis Party, is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to the legalisation of cannabis for medical, recreational and industrial use. It was founded in 1996 and has stood in every general election since, but has never won representation in Parliament. Several of its members have gone on to political success after leaving the party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian Hobbs</span> New Zealand politician

Marian Leslie Hobbs is a New Zealand politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2008. She was initially a list MP and then represented the Wellington Central electorate. She served as Minister for the Environment and, later, as one of two Assistant Speakers of the House of Representatives. She represented the Dunedin constituency of the Otago Regional Council from 2019 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley Soper</span> New Zealand politician (born 1954)

Lesley Frances Soper is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clutha-Southland</span> Former electorate in New Zealand

Clutha-Southland was a parliamentary constituency returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The last MP for Clutha Southland was Hamish Walker of the National Party. He held the seat for one term, being elected at the 2017 general election and representing the electorate until the 2020 general election where he retired from Parliament, and the seat was replaced with the Southland electorate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Woodhouse</span> New Zealand politician

Michael Allan Woodhouse is a New Zealand healthcare chief executive and former politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 2008 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Logie</span> New Zealand politician (born 1969)

Heather Janet Logie is a New Zealand politician and a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. She is a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Dowie</span> New Zealand politician

Sarah Maree Dowie is a New Zealand former politician of the National Party. She was the Member of Parliament for Invercargill from 2014 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Doocey</span> New Zealand politician (born 1972)

Matthew Maurice Doocey is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand Parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand National Party. He was re-elected in 2017 with a majority increase of over 10,000 which was a significant increase from a majority of 2,500 in 2014. It was reported that this was the largest personal vote increase in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 New Zealand general election</span>

The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd New Zealand Parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed party lists. Two referendums, one on the personal use of cannabis and one on euthanasia, were also held on the same day. Official results of the election and referendums were released on 6 November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Russell</span> New Zealand politician

Deborah Faye Russell is a New Zealand academic and politician. She is a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party and served as Minister of Statistics and Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission from February to November 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow-Jean Prime</span> New Zealand politician

Willow-Jean Prime is a New Zealand politician. She was first elected a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives at the 2017 general election as a list representative of the New Zealand Labour Party. She was elected as the Member of Parliament for Northland at the 2020 general election and was re-elected as a list MP in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Lorck</span> New Zealand politician

Anna Louise Lorck is a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She served in the New Zealand House of Representatives as the MP for Tukituki from 2020 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracey McLellan</span> New Zealand politician

Tracey Lee McLellan is a New Zealand politician. From 2020 to 2023, she was a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. In 2024, she re-entered parliament after the resignation of fellow Labour List MP Rino Tirikatene.

This page lists candidates contesting electorates in the 2020 New Zealand general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingrid Leary</span> New Zealand politician

Ingrid Marieke Leary is a New Zealand politician. In 2020 she was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Brooking</span> New Zealand Labour Party politician

Rachel Jane Brooking is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament who served as the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries and Minister for Food Safety in the Sixth Labour Government. She first became an MP at the 2020 New Zealand general election. She is a lawyer by profession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Mooney (New Zealand politician)</span> New Zealand politician (born 1979)

Joseph Mooney is a New Zealand politician. In 2020 he was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party in the Southland electorate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny Simmonds</span> New Zealand politician

Penelope Elsie Simmonds is a New Zealand politician, Member of Parliament and a Minister in the House of Representatives for the National Party. She previously served as the chief executive of the Southern Institute of Technology. Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, Simmonds assumed the disability issues, environmental, tertiary education and skills, and associate social development and employment portfolios in the Sixth National Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Bennett</span> New Zealand Labour Party politician elected in 2020

Glen Thomas Bennett is a New Zealand politician and a member of the Labour Party. He was elected the Member of the Parliament for New Plymouth at the 2020 New Zealand general election, defeating the National candidate and incumbent Jonathan Young. He lost his seat to David MacLeod in the 2023 general election, but re-entered parliament on the list in March 2024 following the retirement of Grant Robertson. Prior to entering politics, Bennett worked in the community sector for more than 20 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Hammond</span> Politician from New Zealand

Jessica Hammond is a New Zealand public servant, perennial candidate, playwright, and blogger. Hammond stood for The Opportunities Party for Ōhāriu in the 2017, 2020, and 2023 general elections, coming third twice and fourth once.

References

  1. ↑ "Roll of members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, 1854 onwards" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Election 2020: Invercargill candidates for local MP". 1 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Goodwin, Eileen (3 June 2014). "Children in poverty motivation for Labour candidate". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Dr Liz Craig". Labour Party. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  5. ↑ Fallow, Michael (20 January 2020). "Invercargill list MP Liz Craig marries 'best friend' Philip Melgren". Stuff . Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  6. ↑ Woolf, Amber-Leigh (20 May 2016). "Dr Liz Craig nominated as Labour's candidate for Invercargill". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  7. ↑ Goodwin, Eileen (24 September 2017). "South elects three new MPs". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  8. ↑ Woolf, Amber-Leigh (20 May 2016). "Dr Liz Craig nominated as Labour's candidate for Invercargill". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Medical school awards boost research plans". Otago Daily Times . 7 July 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  10. ↑ Elder, Vaughan (10 December 2012). "Poverty: time 'to wake up'". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  11. ↑ "Child health, wealth, happiness". Otago Daily Times . 14 December 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  12. 1 2 Goodwin, Eileen (21 May 2016). "Labour picks Craig for seat". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  13. ↑ Marshall, Andrew (17 April 2018). "Craig's local office open for business". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "Labour List for the 2014 Election Announced" (Press release). New Zealand Labour Party. Scoop. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop.co.nz. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "Craig, Liz – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "Invercargill – Official Results". Electoral Commission . Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  19. ↑ "Special delivery: what will those extra votes change for Invercargill?". Stuff . 22 October 2020. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  20. ↑ "Invercargill – Preliminary Count". Electoral Commission . Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  21. ↑ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission . Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  22. ↑ Cooke, Henry (3 May 2022). "Labour MP Liz Craig appointed new Parliamentary Private Secretary for Health, new role supporting health ministers". Stuff . Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  23. ↑ Houlahan, Mike (14 December 2022). "Brooking puts name forward for seat". Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  24. ↑ "Liz Craig selected as Invercargill's Labour candidate for 2023". The Southland Times . Stuff. 12 December 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  25. ↑ "Invercargill - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  26. ↑ Johari, Sneha (14 October 2023). "Labour's Liz Craig to leave Parliament". The Southland Times . Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.